Refrigerator car floor rack



July 9, 1940. G. 'G'. GILPIN REFRIGERATO'R CAR FLOOR RACK Fi1ed`Ju1y 28, 1958 jorv( [/7 Ver? for: 60ML/7 Patented July 9, 1940 Garth 1 G. Gilpin,

Riverside, Ill.,

assigner to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Dela- Walle Application July/2s, 193s, semi No. 221,781'

c claims. v(c1. 1105-375) This invention relates to refrigerator cars used to transport perishable commodities at apredetermined temperature. A refrigerator car comprises an insulated structure, i. e., insulated floor, Walls and roof, and a cooling means when used in summer or a heating means when used in Winter.

I have shown inyinvention applied to an end bunker car in which refrigerant containers are placed adjacent each end wall of the car and separated from the lading compartment by'bulk'- heads. The air is cooled by the refrigerant in said container and flows, by reason of having its density increased, through the opening under the bulkhead.` The lading Inustbe spaced from the main floor of the car to allow the cooled air to ow under the lading and -means must be provided to allow said cooled air to come in contact with the lading. It is an object of this invention then to provide a rack having sufficientl strength to resist the horizontal shifting tendency aswell as the vertical thrust of the lading and having a foraminous load-supporting' member to allow the cooled air to circulate upwardly to the lading. My inventionshould not loe construed as being limited to the application shown in the drawing, but may be appliedto other types of cars: for example, those in which the refrigerant containers are suspended immediately below the roof.` l H l Another object of the invention is to provide a floor rack having great strength with a minimum weight.` It is a disadvantage to unnecessarily increase the weight of a car because more weight must be hauled with no increasein revenue.'

It is a further object of the invention to provide a floor rack having a smooth upper surface. Loads are usually hauled into refrigerator cars on small4 trucks so that any obstructions on the floor rack. would be a distinct disadvantage. Loads consisting of crates or boxes are often squeezed toward the bulkheads, making it essential that the upper surface of the floor rackfbe smooth so that the lading may slide upon it easily.

Another object of the invention is to "provide a metallic protecting piece on the upper surface of a wood member. Refrigerator car floor racks are continually subjected to moisture which has a "tendency to rot the wood, thus rendering it unt to resist the abrasion to which the top surface of a rack is subjected.

In the drawing:

Figs. l and 2 are longitudinal and transverse sections, respectively, of a refrigerator'car ernbodying my4 invention.

Fig. v3, drawn 'l shown the main floor 2; side walls 3; end wallft;

roof 5 and bulkhead ii separating the refrigerant 10- chamber] from the lading compartment'. The refrigerant container comprises ice grates 9 and foraminous walls I0. Air circulates from the ladv ing compartment Il through the opening Il above f5 the bulkheaddownwardly through the lues I2 adjacent the container walls I @,'through -the l opening I3 under the bulkhead Ii and through the flues I4 under the floor rack I5. The floor rrack.

I5 comprises stringers I@ and an upper member m, I 'I having apertures I8 for entrance ofthe cooled 20 air to the lading compartment, asl shown by the arrows. A'

As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the upper member I'l of the door rack is made of plywood 3B covered with a metallic sheet 3l; j Plywood consists ofal plurality of relatively thin wood members 32 in flatwise relation to each other and arranged with the grain of each member extending transversely to the grain of'each adjoining member.

For example, plywood consisting` of three-layers would have the grain of the upper. and lower membersv substantially parallel, while the central member would have itsy grain transverse to both The membersfsZ are 1' uppery and lower members. preferably gluedor cemented together lthrough-` out their entire area, thus providing a very strong construction. Apertures 35'are provided inthe plywood Sil and the metallic protecting sheet il has apertures 34 aligned with the apertures 35., The apertures 34 in the sheet 3l are provided with depending peripherical flanges sli projecting inside the apertures 35 to protect the plywood from damage. For example, the flanges 3E prevent the wheels of trucks from chipping ofi small ,pieces of wood as the trucks are run over the floor rack. It is preferable to impregnate the wood against moisture by coating with shellac, varnish, or other waterproof coating.

Thestringers I6 may be Wood lill, as shown in Fig..4, or channe1-shaped sheet metal members 4l having openings IML'as shown in Fig. 5. In either case, they are preferably secured to the upper member Il by bolts l2 having their heads 43 nesting in depressions 44 formed in the metallic vwood 30.

This attachment is Fig. 7 shows a modified design in which thev depending flange on the sheet 3l is ilush with the inside surface of the aperture 56 in the ply- 'Ihis minimizes the danger of the metallic sheet 3l being pulled off the plywood til by an object bearing against the iiange 55.'

The drawing shows the main load supportingv member of the rack to be plywood and the claims specify a wood member. It is not intended that the invention be limited tc a wood-en structure but should also include a structure built of Ma- Sonite Presdwood, Weatherwood Hardboard, or any other such material which is capable of supporting a load. y

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof, within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. In a refrigerator car having a main floor, a rack for supporting a lading in spaced relation to said main floor to provide a flue therebetween, and means to induce an air current in said iiue, said rack comprising a plurality of stringers supporting a foraminous iioor, said foraminous floor comprising a substantially flat wood member, a metallic sheet in ilatwise relation upon the upper I surface of said wood member, means to secure said metallic sheet thereto, and a plurality of aligned apertures in said metallic sheet and said wood member.

2. In a refrigerator 'car having a main floor, a rack for'supporting a` lading in spaced relation to said main floor to provide a iiue therebetween,

and means to induce an air current in said nue, said rack comprising a plurality of .stringere supporting a foraminous floor, said foraminous oor comprising a plurality of relatively thin wood members secured together flatwise with the grain of each member extending transversely to the grain of an adjacent member, a metallic sheet in flatwise relation upon the upper surface of said wood members, means to secure said metallic sheet thereto, and a plurality of aligned apertures in said metallicv sheet and said wood members.

3. In a refrigerator car having a mainrfloor, a rack for supporting a lading in spaced relation to said main oor to provide a lue therebetween, and 'means to induce an air current in said flue, said rack comprising a plurality of stringers supporting a foraminous floor, said foraminous floor comprising a substantially at wood member, a metallic sheet in flatwise relation upon the upper surface of said wood member, means to secure said metallic sheet thereto, and a plurality of aligned apertures in lsaid metallic sheet and said wood member, the apertures in said metallic l sheet having depending peripherical ilanges to protect said wood member.

4. In `a refrigerator car having a main floor, a

rack for supporting a lading in spaced relation to said main floor to provide a flue therebetween, and means to induce an air current in said flue,

said rack comprising a plurality of stringers sup,-Y

porting a foraminous floor, said foraminous floor comprising a substantially nat wood member, a metallic sheet in fiatwise relation upon the upper surface of said wood member, means to secure said metallic sheet thereto, said last mentioned means comprising glue, and a plurality of aligned apertures in said metallic sheet and said wood member. l

5. In a refrigerator car having a main floor, a rack for supporting a lading in spaced relation to said main door to provide a iiue therebetween, and means to induce an air currentv in said flue, said rack comprising a plurality of stringers supporting a foraminous floor, said foraminous iloor comprising a substantially fiat wood member, a metallic sheet in atwise' relation upon the upper surface of said wood member, means to secure said-metallic rsheet thereto, said last mentioned means comprising rivets having their heads nestu sheet in flatwise relation upon the upper surface of said wood member, means to secure said metallic sheet thereto, and a plurality of valigned apertures in said metallic sheet and said wood member. y

GAR'I'I-I G. GILPIN. 

